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Military Grant Offered to Lebanon

Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Ali Shamkhani has said Iran intends to give a military grant to the Lebanese army.

"Iran has decided to present a military grant to the Lebanese army," he told reporters on his arrival in Beirut on Monday, the Mehr news agency reported.

He said the grant will be presented with no delay and immediately after the imminent visit of the defense minister to Lebanon.

He also said the purpose of his visit was to hold consultations with Lebanese authorities on the latest regional political and security issues and discuss the ways to increase bilateral cooperation to address common threats.

Shamkhani said, "I will discuss with Lebanese officials the framework of defense cooperation and the supply of the Lebanese army's requested equipment."

****Beirut Seeks Increased Cooperation

Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam praised Iran for making efforts to help secure stability in the Arab country and said, "The ongoing cooperation between the two countries is the indisputable demand and will of the nation and government in Lebanon," IRNA quoted him as saying in a meeting with the SNSC director.

He touched on political disputes in Lebanon and said differences "hinder the formation of legal structures" in the country.

He described national unity and solidarity as "inevitable necessities" and said, "the unity of the Lebanese nation defeated the Israeli regime in the 2006 war."

The Lebanese prime minister warned that any failure to preserve national unity would permit Israel to achieve its objectives in Lebanon without military action.

He stressed the necessity to stage an all-out war against terrorism and said the evil phenomenon disrupts international order and security irrespective of location, religion, and nationality.

The SNSC director said constructive cooperation between ethnic, religious, and political groups in the pluralist Lebanese society guarantees stability and national unity in the country.

In a separate meeting with Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Shamkhani described the allegation that Iran wants to tie cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State terrorist group to its nuclear deal with the major powers as "false and baseless".

The two officials discussed the latest regional developments in the meeting.

The security chief also met and conferred with Hezbollah Leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday.

Shamkhani heading a security and political delegation arrived in Beirut on late Monday to hold talks with Lebanese officials.

****Shamkhani Meets Assad

The SNSC secretary also travelled to Damascus on Tuesday and met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In the meeting, he said it is Iran's principled policy to earnestly support the Syrian government.

He praised the Syrian nation and government for putting up "unique resistance" against terrorists, IRNA reported.

Shamkhani also held a meeting with the head of Syria's national security council, Ali Mamlouk. The security officials discussed the latest political and security developments in Syria and other regional countries.